Galerie Living plans to develop and operate a senior living community at a century-old mansion that once belonged to Coca-Cola heir Asa Candler Jr., on the grounds of Emory University. As part of the agreement with the university, Atlanta-based Galerie will restore the historic Candler Mansion and lease 32 acres of the 42-acre property.
The mansion was built in 1922. Since then, it has been a home as well as “a head-turning zoo exhibit and magic emporium, mental health hospital, a dilapidated ruin, and, most recently, a movie and television set,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
By 1998, when Emory University purchased the property, the once-palatial estate was weathered and worn. Since then, many plans have been devised about what to do with the mansion, among them most recently a boutique hotel and event center.
“The restoration of the mansion will be extensive,” David C. Payne, associate vice president of planning and engagement at Emory, said in a university newsletter.
Following community meetings this week, Galerie Living intends to file plans with DeKalb County and then break ground by 2023 or 2024.
Retirement communities are popping up on college and university campuses all around the country. At Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, a $1 billion mixed use development will include a senior living component, WBIB reported. The Purdue Research Foundation is sponsoring the development of the 400-acre Discovery Park District.
Among other retirement communities located on or adjacent to college campuses are Mirabella at ASU in Tempe, AZ; Broadview–Senior Living at Purchase College, in Purchase, NY; and The Spires at Berry College in Rome, GA.
